"U.S. manned space flight; first U.S. Shuttle-Russian Space Station Mir docking and joint on-orbit operations; and first on-orbit changeout of shuttle crew. When linked, ""Atlantis"" and ""Mir"" together formed the largest spacecraft in orbit at the time. Shuttle ""Atlantis"" also delivered several vital components for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). During the February 2001 mission STS-98 to the ISS, ""Atlantis"" delivered the Destiny Module, the primary operating facility for U.S. research payloads aboard the ISS. The five hour 25 minute third spacewalk performed by astronauts Robert Curbeam and Thomas Jones during STS-98 marked NASA's 100th extra vehicular"
"of ""Atlantis""s final flight on July 21, 2011. The U.S. has since relied primarily on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable human spaceflight vehicle capable of reaching low Earth orbit, commissioned and operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 1981 to 2011. It resulted from shuttle design studies conducted by NASA and the U.S. Air Force in the 1960s and was first proposed for development as part of an ambitious second-generation Space Transportation System (STS) of space vehicles to follow the Apollo program"
"in 2011 after 135 missions, with ""Atlantis"" making the final launch of the three-decade Shuttle program on July 8, 2011. The program ended after ""Atlantis"" landed at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. Major missions included launching numerous satellites and interplanetary probes, conducting space science experiments, and servicing and construction of space stations. The first orbiter vehicle, named ""Enterprise"", was used in the initial Approach and Landing Tests phase but installation of engines, heat shielding, and other equipment necessary for orbital flight was cancelled. A total of five operational orbiters were built, and of these, two were destroyed"
"on 21 June 2011 to resupply and deliver equipment to the International Space Station. Progress M-11M transferred more than 2.5 tons of cargo to the Space Station, including food, water, scientific hardware, propellant, and cargo. The cargo ship docked with the Zvezda service module of the Space Station at 16:37 UTC on 23 June 2011. The docking occurred 245 miles above eastern Kazakhstan. On 8 July 2011, Space Shuttle ""Atlantis"" launched on the STS-135 mission, the final mission in NASA's Space Shuttle program. ""Atlantis"" docked to the ISS on 10 July 2011 at 15:07 UTC. The mission was crewed by"
"changes before it could be completed, the retirement of the Space Shuttle was delayed several times until 2011, serving at least 15 years longer than originally planned. ""Discovery"" was the first of NASA's three remaining operational Space Shuttles to be retired. The final Space Shuttle mission was originally scheduled for late 2010, but the program was later extended to July 2011 when Michael Suffredini of the ISS program said that one additional trip was needed in 2011 to deliver parts to the International Space Station. The Shuttle's final mission consisted of just four astronauts—Christopher Ferguson (Commander), Douglas Hurley (Pilot), Sandra"
"launched on September 29, 1988. The longest Shuttle mission was STS-80 lasting 17 days, 15 hours. The final flight of the Space Shuttle program was STS-135 on July 8, 2011. Since the Shuttle's retirement in 2011, many of its original duties are performed by an assortment of government and private vessels. The European ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle supplied the ISS between 2008 and 2015. Classified military missions are being flown by the US Air Force's unmanned space plane, the X-37B. By 2012, cargo to the International Space Station was already being delivered commercially under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services by SpaceX's"
"Shuttle ""Columbia"" disaster. The Shuttle fleet lost two orbiters and 14 astronauts in two disasters: ""Challenger"" in 1986, and ""Columbia"" in 2003. While the 1986 loss was mitigated by building the Space Shuttle ""Endeavour"" from replacement parts, NASA did not build another orbiter to replace the second loss. NASA's Space Shuttle program had 135 missions when the program ended with the successful landing of the Space Shuttle ""Atlantis"" at the Kennedy Space Center on July 21, 2011. The program spanned 30 years with over 300 astronauts sent into space. The International Space Station (ISS) combines NASA's ""Space Station Freedom"" project"
"STS-135 STS-135 (ISS assembly flight ULF7) was the 135th and final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter ""Atlantis"" and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on 8 July 2011, and landed on 21 July 2011, following a one-day mission extension. The four-person crew was the smallest of any shuttle mission since STS-6 in April 1983. The mission's primary cargo was the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) ""Raffaello"" and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC), which were delivered to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight of ""Raffaello"" marked the"
"supported the final manifested shuttle flights, starting with STS-117 in June 2007 until the retirement of the shuttle fleet in July 2011. Prior to the SpaceX lease agreement, the pad remained as it was when Atlantis launched on the final shuttle mission on July 8, 2011, complete with a mobile launcher platform. In 1997 the pad was the proposed as the site of the first machine for the film Contact. Talks for use of the pad were underway between NASA and Space Florida—the State of Florida's economic development agency—as early as 2011, but no deal materialized by 2012 and NASA"
"funding was found and a decision was taken to fly STS-135 as the final Space Shuttle mission, with Atlantis as the orbiter. The STS-135 mission launched in July 2011, just over a year after Atlantis's launch on the STS-132 mission. The crew members aboard ""Atlantis"" began their first full day in space at 08:20 UTC. The day was primarily devoted to inspecting ""Atlantis's"" thermal protection system, using the shuttle's robotic arm and the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS) to look for any signs of launch damage. Before the thermal protection checkout began, the crew encountered a problem with the Laser"
"Soyuz and three Space Shuttle missions – were launched in 2011, carrying a total of 28 astronauts and cosmonauts into orbit. At the beginning of the year, the Expedition 26 crew was aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The first manned flight of 2011 was STS-133, the final flight of the Space Shuttle , which launched from the Kennedy Space Center on 24 February. STS-133 carried ""Leonardo"", the final American pressurised module of the ISS, for installation. ""Discovery"" returned to Earth on 9 March. On 16 March, Expedition 27 began aboard the ISS with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-01M"
"the White House requested the one-year extension. The final Space Shuttle launch was that of ""Atlantis"" on July 8, 2011. Although the retirement was planned and roughly in line with what was expected out of STS without further upgrades, the planned replacement for the STS, the Constellation program was cancelled the year before STS concluded. The two programs that took its place, two undetermined commercial crew vehicles and SLS with Orion needed even more time to have a new launcher. NASA has continued to fly to the station via its Roscosmos partner, who still has a functioning manned launcher, the"
"as ""Challenger""s replacement, and was first launched in 1992. In 2003, ""Columbia"" was destroyed during re-entry, leaving just three remaining orbiters. ""Discovery"" completed its final flight on March 9, 2011, and ""Endeavour"" completed its final flight on June 1, 2011. ""Atlantis"" completed the last ever Shuttle flight, STS-135, on July 21, 2011. In addition to their crews and payloads, the reusable orbiter carried most of the Space Shuttle System's liquid-fueled rocket propulsion system, but both the liquid hydrogen fuel and the liquid oxygen oxidizer for its three main rocket engines were fed from an external cryogenic propellant tank. Additionally, two"
"of the retirement of the Space Shuttle following the STS-135 mission in July 2011—and the resultant loss of the Space Shuttle's ability to return payload mass—an increasing concern became returning downmass cargo from low-Earth orbit to Earth for subsequent use or analysis. During this period of time, of the four space vehicles capable of reaching and delivering cargo to the International Space Station, only the Russian Soyuz vehicle could return even a very small cargo payload to Earth. The Soyuz cargo downmass capability was limited as the entire space capsule was filled to capacity with the three ISS crew members"
"Shuttle mission, STS-135, began on 8 July with the launch of , carrying supplies for the ISS aboard the ""Raffaello"" Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). After resupplying the space station, ""Atlantis"" returned to Earth, landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 09:57 UTC on 21 July, and concluding thirty years of Space Shuttle operations. Two days before landing, ""Atlantis"" deployed PSSC-2, the last satellite to be launched from a Space Shuttle. On 29 September, China launched its first space station module, Tiangong-1, which was placed into orbit by a Long March 2F/G carrier rocket flying from the Jiuquan Satellite"
"to turn it into the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) and was permanently attached to the ISS during the STS-133 mission in March 2011. The ""Raffaello"" module in July 2011 was the last ever payload of a NASA Space Shuttle. It returned with the Shuttle and was stored at the Kennedy Space Center. The ""Donatello"" module never launched. There were 37 Space Shuttle missions to the ISS. MPLMs were flown twelve times, with SPACEHAB modules flown nine times to ISS, and 25 Shuttle missions delivering construction elements, in various combinations. An MPLM is a large cylinder equipped with a common berthing"
"on the band's last studio album, ""The Story"", ends with a recording of her voice introducing the song. Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle ""Columbia"" (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-102) was the first space-rated orbiter in NASA's Space Shuttle fleet. It launched for the first time on mission STS-1 on April 12, 1981, the first flight of the Space Shuttle program. Over 22 years of service, it completed 27 missions before disintegrating during re-entry near the end of its 28th mission, STS-107 on February 1, 2003, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members. Construction began on ""Columbia"" in 1975 at"
"contingency mission program that could launch a rescue orbiter on short notice, similar to the Skylab Rescue that was planned during the Skylab program. NASA retired the Space Shuttle fleet on July 21, 2011 after completing the ISS and the final flight and subsequent landing of ""Atlantis"". The Shuttle's replacement, Orion, was to have consisted of an Apollo-derived spacecraft launched on the Ares I rocket, which would use a Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster as its first stage. Orion would not face the dangers of either an O-ring failure (due to the presence of a launch escape system) or shedding"
"used in 2012 and 2013 during the refueling demonstration experiments. The RRM phase 1 experiment platform was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on 8 July 2011, transported by Space Shuttle ""Atlantis"" on STS-135, the 135th and final flight mission of the American Space Shuttle program. NASA successfully completed the phase 1 demonstration mission in January 2013, performing a series of robotic refuelings of satellite hardware that had not been designed for refueling . An extensive series of robotically-actuated propellant transfer experiments on the exposed facility platform of the International Space Station (ISS) were completed by the RRM equipment"
"years until the STS-114 launch on July 26, 2005. The shuttle program experienced five main engine shutdowns at LC-39, all within four seconds before launch; and one abort to orbit, STS-51-F on July 29, 1985. Shuttle missions during nearly 30 years of operations included deploying satellites and interplanetary probes, conducting space science and technology experiments, visits to the Russian MIR space station, construction and servicing of the International Space Station, deployment and servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope and serving as a space laboratory. The shuttle was retired from service in July 2011 after 135 launches. On October 28, 2009,"
"missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST); conducted science experiments in orbit; and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station. The Shuttle fleet's total mission time was 1322 days, 19 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds. Shuttle components included the Orbiter Vehicle (OV) with three clustered Rocketdyne RS-25 main engines, a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Space Shuttle was launched vertically, like"
"STS-125 STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The launch of the Space Shuttle ""Atlantis"" occurred on 11 May 2009 at 2:01 pm EDT. Landing occurred on 24 May at 11:39 am EDT, with the mission lasting a total of just under 13 days. The crew of STS-125 included three astronauts who had previous experience servicing Hubble. Scott Altman visited Hubble in 2002 as commander of STS-109, the fourth Hubble servicing mission. John Grunsfeld, an astronomer, has serviced Hubble twice, performing a total of"
"journey, the shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 03:29 EDT on 1 June 2011. Large crowds, including the families of NASA's workforce, were present during the rollout. The STS-135 crew was also at the Kennedy Space Center to witness the last-ever rollout of a Space Shuttle. The crew participated in an informal Question & Answer session with news media, which was aired live on NASA TV. While ""Atlantis"" was rolled out to the launch pad, ""Endeavour"" was landing a few miles away at the Shuttle Landing Facility, touching down on Kennedy Space Center's Runway 15 at 02:34 EDT"
"crew for this mission would have been a four-person subset of the full STS-120 crew. STS-118 STS-118 was a space shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS) flown by the orbiter ""Endeavour"". STS-118 lifted off on 8 August 2007 from launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida and landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility at KSC on 21 August 2007. This was the first flight of ""Endeavour"" since STS-113 in November 2002, which was also the last successful shuttle flight before STS-107 which culminated in the loss of ""Columbia"" when it disintegrated during reentry. STS-118 pilot Charles"
"released from stand-by status on Thursday, 21 May. STS-125 STS-125, or HST-SM4 (Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 4), was the fifth and final space shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The launch of the Space Shuttle ""Atlantis"" occurred on 11 May 2009 at 2:01 pm EDT. Landing occurred on 24 May at 11:39 am EDT, with the mission lasting a total of just under 13 days. The crew of STS-125 included three astronauts who had previous experience servicing Hubble. Scott Altman visited Hubble in 2002 as commander of STS-109, the fourth Hubble servicing mission. John Grunsfeld, an astronomer,"
"final mission, STS-134. During this mission, the crew of ""Endeavour"" installed on the station's exterior the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and several spare parts to aid in station operations after the retirement of the Space Shuttle. STS-134 was the 36th Space Shuttle mission to the International Space Station. ""Endeavour"" and her crew, consisting of Mark Kelly, Gregory Johnson, Michael Fincke, Roberto Vittori, Andrew Feustel, and Gregory Chamitoff, returned to Earth on 1 June 2011, at 6:34 UTC. STS-134 was the second-to-last mission of the Space Shuttle. The remainder of the Expedition 28 crew (Sergey Volkov, Michael E. Fossum, and Satoshi Furukawa)"
"July 2011 and landed on July 21. Dr. Magnus left NASA Astronaut corps to become the Executive Director of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) . Sandra Magnus Sandra Hall Magnus (born October 30, 1964) is an American engineer and a former NASA astronaut. She returned to Earth with the crew of STS-119 ""Discovery"" on March 28, 2009, after having spent 134 days in orbit. She was assigned to the crew of STS-135, the final mission of the Space Shuttle. She is also a licensed amateur radio operator with the call sign KE5FYE. Magnus was born and raised"
"PSSC-2 PSSC-2, or Pico-Satellite Solar Cell Testbed 2, also known as PSSC-Testbed 2, is a miniaturised satellite which will be operated by the United States Air Force as part of a technology demonstration programme. It was the last satellite to be deployed from a Space Shuttle. PSSC-2 was launched aboard on its final mission, STS-135. The launch took place from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, at 15:29 UTC on 8 July 2011. PSSC-2, along with a deployment mechanism, was carried to orbit in the payload bay of the Shuttle, attached to the right wall behind the Orbiter"
"STS-134 STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6) was the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program and the 25th and last spaceflight of . This flight delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and an ExPRESS Logistics Carrier to the International Space Station. Mark Kelly served as the mission commander. STS-134 was expected to be the final space shuttle mission if STS-135 did not receive funding from Congress. However, in February 2011, NASA stated that STS-135 would fly ""regardless"" of the funding situation. STS-135, flown by ""Atlantis"", took advantage of the processing for STS-335, the Launch On Need mission that would have been"
"NASA astronauts Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus, and Rex Walheim, and departed from the ISS on 19 July 2011. The purpose of the mission was to deliver the ""Raffaello"" MPLM, stocked with supplies, to the space station. The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft departed from the International Space Station on 16 September 2011 at 00:38 UTC. Soyuz Commander Aleksandr Samokutyayev and Flight Engineers Andrei Borisenko and Ronald Garan returned to Earth on 16 September at 03:59 UTC, landing safely in central Kazakhstan. Their landing marked the beginning of Expedition 29. Expedition 28 Expedition 28 was the 28th long-duration expedition to the"
"Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official name, Space Transportation System (STS), was taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. The Space Shuttle—composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and a disposable external fuel tank—carried up to eight astronauts and up to of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its"
"space station through 2012, following the end of NASA's space shuttle program. Since the ISS program was extended to 2024, the station is resupplied by the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program which took over resupply missions from the Shuttle. A shuttle extension beyond STS-135 wasn't seriously considered, and an ISS extension was never intended to be a guaranteed shuttle program extension, and the Shuttle program officially ended after STS-135. The Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) ""Raffaello"" made up the majority of the payload. This was ""Raffaello""<nowiki>'</nowiki>s fourth trip to the International Space Station since 2001 and the 12th use of an"
"planned to visit annually from 2010 onwards. Cygnus and Dragon were contracted to fly cargo to the station after retirement of the NASA Shuttle. From 26 February 2011 to 7 March 2011 four of the governmental partners (United States, ESA, Japan and Russia) had their spacecraft (NASA Shuttle, ATV, HTV, Progress and Soyuz) docked at the ISS, the only time this has happened to date. On 25 May 2012, SpaceX became the world's first privately held company to send cargo, via the Dragon spacecraft, to the International Space Station. Prior to a ship's docking to the ISS, navigation and attitude"